Learn to play and sing the music you love! With me, music is not an academic exercise but about the joy and value it can bring to your life. I am here to share my love and knowledge of music with you so that you can learn skills that you can take with you anywhere, for the rest of your life.

I will never make you play or sing a piece that you don’t like or tell you that you have to read music or learn theory if it doesn’t interest you. I am flexible and open minded and love finding new ways to do things. I have worked with children as young as 4 all the way through to adults, and love working with those with additional needs, SEND and who are neurodivergent. I want to leave you feeling excited to practise, not dreading it.

What happens in a lesson?
In your first lesson we’ll have a chat about what you want to learn and what sort of music you like listening to. I’ll ask you about how you like to learn, what ways have worked (or maybe not worked!) so well for you before. What happens after that will be very tailored to you but below are some examples:

Example lesson 1: 35 year old who loves singing in the shower and wants to be able to play the guitar to gather friends around and have a sing along.
We decide on three songs that you think your friends would like and listen to them together, having a chat about what we can hear is going on musically and how this could be translated onto the guitar. We see if the original key suits your voice and I accompany you first to see if there are some stylistic choices we could make. We choose one piece to work on for this lesson. I then get the chords up for you and teach you the shapes on the guitar and we focus on fluency and confidence. You then have a go at singing a bit of the song, coordinating your playing to it. I give you some tips to ensure you can do both at the same time and help you with how to practise in your own time.

Example lesson 2: 15 year old who has ADHD and loves how the saxophone sounds but isn’t sure if they’ll stick with it.
Once I’ve taught you basic mouth positioning and you’re able to get a sound out, we move on through a range of activities to keep your interest. We choose three notes to improvise/jam over together. You see how many ways you can combine those three notes and how many rhythms you can make and I bounce off you, copying what you’ve done. We swap, this time you see if you can copy the patterns I make. Next we have a listen to some drum loops and choose one that we could play over, working on playing in time. We then listen to a song you like, I find what key it’s in and we practise some long notes, working on breathing technique and showing you that even with just a few notes you can play along to what you love.

Example lesson 3: 5 year old who dances along to their favourite tunes, whose parent would like to introduce some structure to their music learning.
We start with some physical rhythmic activities, stomping and clapping our way around the room to a song you like. We do some call and response, seeing if you can copy my actions and then my rhythms. I introduce you to a note game and you go to one end of the room if the note is high pitched and the other if it’s low pitched, and you have a go at singing the note back to me. I introduce you to the note names of the keyboard and we see what words we can spell with the notes. We do some ear training, seeing if you can sing a note and find the matching one on the keyboard.

What can I teach?
I love to teach rock and pop especially but can work with most genres.
I teach beginner and intermediate students.
I offer lessons in alto saxophone, vocals, piano/keyboard and guitar.
I teach self-accompaniment, how to play piano/keyboard/guitar at the same time as singing.
I teach improvisation and composition and can teach you how to use Sibelius (music notation software).
I teach music theory and ear training.

What do you need?
I can bring my guitar or keyboard for you to try, but I would recommend you have your own. Please let me know if you do not have a keyboard/piano particularly as I will usually play this in our lessons. If you are booking saxophone lessons you will need to have your own saxophone as we won’t be able to share. These can be rented if you’re not ready to commit to buying one yet. If you are a client under 9 years old it would be great (but not absolutely essential) if you had some sort of percussion like claves (sticks), shakers, a drum or a bell available. Having an idea of what songs you might like to play is helpful, but not essential. What you absolutely do need is a love of music!

What don’t I offer?
If you are looking for someone to teach you advanced techniques or to take your playing to the next level then I am not the teacher for you, but you’re welcome to drop me a message so we can jam together!
If you are looking to take exams such as ABRSM, Trinity Guildhall or Rock School then I’m happy to work with you on this but it is not my area of expertise.

About me
I graduated from the University of Bristol with a first class degree in Music, including an award for my composition portfolio.
I achieved my PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) in Primary Education from the University of the West of England.
I have worked as a class teacher across the primary age range and have worked as a learning support assistant in special education settings in primary, secondary and post 16.
I first started teaching music to children for whom I babysat when I was just 16 years old.
I love to play my instruments and sing; I regularly sing in a choir and accompany myself at open mic nights. After completing a highly pressurised academic career I now focus on playing and singing for pleasure.
I currently volunteer with a company that provides accessible music education for those of all abilities and ages.
I pride myself on being inclusive. If you are LGBT+ (particularly if you are trans and going through HRT as this will mean your voice is changing) or if you are disabled, we can have a chat about how I can make my practice as accessible as possible to you.